Key for opening cans



y 1951 w. F. GRYOSSENBACH 2,552,963

KEY FOR OPENING CANS Filed April 28, 1949 INVENTOR.

A $70 Ali) Patented May 15, 1951 UNITED STATES PTENT OFFICE KEY FOROPENING CANS Walter F. Grossenbach, Ashton, Idaho Application April 28,1949, Serial No. 90,227

1 Claim. 1

The present invention relates to improvements in keys for opening cansand has reference more particularly to a key for facilitating theremoval of the tear-strip that is associated with vacuumpack canningtins.

With the conventional removal keys now generally used for removing thetear-strip there is a tendency for the tear-strip to work off the end ofthe key in the form of open spiral whorls, as the tin can is beingopened.

This not only produces the danger attributed to the sharp edges of thetwisted whorls, but also causes considerable annoyance in that acomplete severance of the tear-strip from the can may only be obtainedwith difficulty and frequently the application of a pair of pliers isnecessary.

It is, therefore, the primary object of my invention to provide a keywhich will enable the tear-strip to be completely removed from the canwithout any danger of the spiral windings slipping axially off of theend of the key.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a key wherein aportion thereof acts as a guide for engagement against the side of thecan lid during the turning movement of the key in winding the tear-stripupon the key.

A still further object is to provide a key that is formed from a singlestrand of wire the same being strong and durable as well as inexpensivein its manufacture.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent from the following description and accompanying drawing.

In the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and inwhich like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views Figure l is a side elevation of my improved key.

Figure 2 is an edge View thereof. 7

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 3--3 ofFigure 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Figure 4 is a side elevation showing the key in the act of winding thetear-strip upon the same.

Figure 5 is a View at right angles to Figure 4, illustrating how the keyengages against the side of the lid of the can in the act of winding thetear-strip upon the removal key, and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken approximately on the line 66 ofFigure 5, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the drawing, the numeral l designates the upper portion of avacuum-pack can, the lid thereof being designated by the numeral 2, and

the usual tear-strip is denoted at 3.

My improved key is denoted generally by the numeral 4 and is formed froma single piece of wire, that is bent to form an actuating handle portion5 at the upper end of the shank portion 6.

The portion of the shank, adjacent its lower free end is flattened as atl and this flattened portion is formed with a tear-strip receiving slot8, in which the free end of the tear-strip is inserted.

The portion of the shank directly above the flattened portion 1 is bentback upon itself to form a laterally extending head 9 the lower endportion of the shank being bent laterally in the same direction to forma foot Iii. This construction is clearly illustrated in Figure 1 of thedrawing.

The laterally extending head 9 and foot Ill cooperate to form with theslotted flattened portion I a reel upon which the tear-strip may bewound so that the spiral windings of the tearstrip will not slip axiallyoff the end of the removal key, while the tear-strip is being removed.

Further, the laterally extending head 9 will engage with the side of thecan lid to serve as a guide when the key is attached to the tear-stripand the handle portion 5 is turned, thus tending to pull the tear-stripaway from the can while it is being rolled upon the reel portion of thekey.

The use of my removal key is readily apparent from the disclosure andforegoing description.

It will thus be seen that I have provided a removal key that will enablethe tear-strip to be entirely removed from the can and without anydanger of the spiral winding slipping off of the end of the key.

While I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, it is to beunderstood that various changes in the size, shape and arrangement ofparts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of theinvention and the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A key for removing a tear-strip from a can comprising a strand of stiffwire bent in spaced relation to one end to form'a laterally extendingarm and in spaced relation to said arm being crimped to form a secondlaterally extending arm of double thickness spaced from the first arm,the portion of the strand between said arms being formed with an openingfor receiving an end portion of a tear-strip, and the other end portionof said strand being bent to form a handle extending from opposite sidesof the portion of the strand from which the arms extend.

WALTER F. GROSSENBACH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthispa tent:

Number Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Rostiser July 22, 1930Epstein May 30, 1933 Vale Feb. 6, 1945 FOREIGN PATENTS Country DateSwitzerland July 16, 1948 Great Britain., Apr. 7, 1938

